


Five Times Scorpius and Rose Were Nearly Caught

by silvernatasha



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: wizard_love, F/M, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-28
Updated: 2011-07-28
Packaged: 2017-10-21 21:17:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/229947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvernatasha/pseuds/silvernatasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Scorpius and Rose were nearly caught - and one time they were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Scorpius and Rose Were Nearly Caught

**I. The end of sixth year**

"We," Rose said in all seriousness, "are about seven minutes away from Kings Cross."

"Seven minutes?" Scorpius raised his eyebrows, only really cottoning on to why she had pulled him into the cramped train toilet when she looped her arms around his neck.

"Yes." She smirked, the wicked self-assured smirk that he had only realised was so attractive this year. Rose Weasley was bad for him, more devious than he had ever been, not to mention ruthlessly focused. And, yes, all of that only helped build his attraction. "Seven is a very important number. Special."

He nodded slowly, resting his hands on her waist. She wriggled against him, the small space barely big enough for both of them to stand up. "We should take advantage of that, then." He dipped his head and kissed her, tugging her closer. They hadn't been doing this very long; Rose had been his first kiss, too. But he was determined to perfect this and get better at eliciting those little noises from her that made him so hard.

He had seven minutes to make some memories that he would be able to use for the next few weeks. This summer was going to be _long_  until he could get his Apparation licence.

Rose moved her arms, one slipping around Scorpius' narrow shoulders and the other drifting down until her hand was grasping at his arse. As he pressed her back against the wood-panelled wall, Rose shifted a leg up around him.

Scorpius whimpered. "Rose," he murmured, barely able to drag his lips away from hers. They were going to be at the station in five minutes and he didn't particularly want to go and greet his parents with an erection.

"Sorry," she said with a soft laugh, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

Someone hammered on the door. Scorpius cringed, especially when he heard the fluty voice of Lily Potter. "Rose! How long are you going to take in there? I  _need_  the loo!"

Rose grimaced. "There's another one in the next carriage," she told her cousin in her cheeriest tone.

"But I'm busting!"

Seeing Rose frown, Scorpius brushed his lips gently over hers. He preferred it when she wasn't angry; it was safer for everyone that way. She gave him a grateful smile and turned her head towards the door. "I'm busy, sweetie."

"With what?"

Rose removed her hand from Scorpius' arse and put her middle finger up at the closed door. "Girl stuff." Nearly collapsing into silent laughter, Scorpius buried his face against Rose's neck, kissing and sucking to stop himself from laughing aloud.

"Fine," Lily grumbled. "See you in a minute."

Waiting a few moments, Rose groaned. "That was close," she said softly, fingers winding through his hair. Scorpius pulled back, reaching up automatically to smooth his hair back into place; Rose smirked. Naturally, Scorpius had to try and kiss the smirk from her face.

"We should probably stop," Rose said between kisses. "My cousins are bound to be looking for me."

"Inconceivable," he told her, kissing her again.

 **II. A secret visit to Malfoy Manor**

It hadn't been as bad as people always made it out to be. Certainly not an excruciating, tearing pain like she'd expected. That stunning orgasm he'd worked out of her before with his mouth had probably helped matters, she decided, stretching out a leg and trying to get more comfortable.

Rose just wished that Scorpius wasn't quite such a cuddler. It was far too hot for that, which was why they were in the gazebo at the far end of the Malfoy Manor grounds, sprawled out on a blanket and letting the late summer breeze wash over their bodies.

"That was alright, wasn't it?" Scorpius asked, his hand sliding up from her side to cup her breast. His thumb brushed over her nipple and Rose sighed, squirming against him. "Because I can get better," he added.

She laughed, tipping her head up to kiss him. Deciding it would take too much effort to reach his lips, Rose settled for kissing his chin, a slight scratch of stubble beneath her lips. "Always the perfectionist," she teased. "You're worse than me."

"At sex?" he asked, alarmed.

"No, at being a perfectionist." Rose poked him hard in the side and he grunted. "We'll definitely get better at the sex."

Scorpius let his gaze travel over her body, stopping to focus on her breasts. She was one of the few people he knew with skin paler than his own and she was  _gorgeous_  like this, mussed and flushed.  _Especially_  like this. Moving against her, one leg slipping between her thighs, Scorpius kissed her shoulder before his lips quickly moved to their intended target and closed around her nipple.

Rose arched against his mouth, breasts sensitive after so much stimulation. She couldn't believe that she was still turned on after all that they'd already done. Carefully avoiding his precious hair, Rose slid her hand down his back, biting her lip when she noticed a few fading red marks that her short fingernails must have caused. He shivered as she traced her fingers over them.

"Want to do it again?" Scorpius asked hopefully, looking up at her with bright eyes. "I do."

The evidence of that was perfectly noticeable but Rose wiggled uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. "Not yet," she said, shaking her head. "Just give me a while."

He smiled wryly, reaching forward to push a curl back from her face. "All right." Scorpius stretched to kiss her, hand still on her breast as though he were determined not to let go of her.

"Scorpius!"

Rose winced when he squeezed her boob hard. "Hey," she hissed, trembling a little from nerves now that there was apparently someone in the garden looking for them.

"It's my grandmother," he said weakly. "Bollocks. She thinks I'm doing Herbology homework." He sat up quickly, tossing Rose's dress at her. "Quick.  _Hide_."

"Hide?"

"Yes." Scorpius made frantic motions with his hands. "Hide! Now!"

Having never seen him so panicked, Rose tugged her dress on over her head, forgoing underwear; she saw Scorpius shoving her knickers into his pocket. "Where am I meant to hide?" she demanded in a whisper.

"I don't know," he whined, yanking on his shirt. "The bushes or something."

Scowling, Rose grabbed her sandals and darted out the other side of the gazebo, muttering colourfully under her breath as she crept in amongst the bushes. A moment later, her bra flew over her head and she grabbed it from the top of the azalea bush.

Brilliant. Just bloody brilliant. This wasn't how Rose had thought this was going to go. But this was what she was reduced to, hiding in the bushes from her boyfriend's grandmother.  _Still_ , she thought, trying to find the positive side as she pushed a branch out of her face,  _at least it's better than getting caught_.

 **III. During the Christmas holidays**

 _Dear Rose,_

 _It has been approximately three days, seven hours and 36 minutes since I last kissed you. I say approximately as I cannot decide whether to begin my count from the first moment my lips met yours or the time they parted. There was, as you remember, a period of several minutes between the two events._

 _I find it inconceivable that..._

"What are you reading?"

Rose looked up, clutching the letter to her chest. Her cheeks flooded with colour as her brother looked down at her curiously, a half-peeled banana in his large hands.

"Nothing. Go away, Hugo."

Her blushing didn't aid her lie. Rose had read and reread the letter from Scorpius multiple times since she had received it yesterday; the corner was turning dog-eared as she repeatedly flicked and toyed with it while she was reading it. His words made her smile, the familiar flicks and quirks of his handwriting. The warm feeling that they gave her had nothing to do with the fire that was crackling gently in the hearth. Of course, having him here in real life would be so much better than just reading a letter, but that wasn't a possibility.

"Doesn't look like nothing." Hugo frowned, peeling the rest of the brown-spotted skin from the ripe banana and lobbing it into the nearest bin and missing. The fairy lights on the Christmas tree shimmered with disapproval. "Didn't you get that yesterday?"

Rose pursed her lips, mostly to stop herself from saying something rude to make him go away. Resorting to crude language was never productive when faced with her annoying younger brother. "Yes," she said. "But I'm just checking something."

Hugo noisily munched a bite of his banana. "Who's it from?"

Wishing that she could just sink into her armchair and ignore him, Rose held onto the letter a little tighter. "Just a friend from school. We're working on something for Charms together."

"You don't look like you're studying," Hugo announced.

"Well... I'm not right now. Go away."

"Where are your books?"

Rose stared. Had Dad given Hugo lessons in how to annoy people? Perhaps it was an inherited trait, passed on through the Weasley males to irritate the women in their lives.

"They're upstairs in my room. Since when have you ever been interested in my studying habits?"

Hugo swallowed. "Since you're hiding something." He narrowed his eyes, looking as thoughtful as he ever did. "I bet it's from a boy."

"It's not from a boy."

"Can I see it, then?"

"No." The parchment crumpled a little under her grip.

A sharkish grin spread across Hugo's face. "It  _is_  from a boy. Have you got a boyfriend?" He cackled. "You  _do_ , don't you?" Laughing more, he managed to finish his banana in another two bites. "Who is it? Go on."

Scowling darkly, Rose simply glared at her brother. "I'm not telling you anything."

"You don't have to." Hugo made a grab for the letter, but Rose whipped it out of his reach. "Can't keep it from me," he said with a smirk. Reaching further and putting one hand on Rose's shoulder to pin her back in the chair. His fingers brushed the parchment; Rose squealed in dismay. It wasn't fair that her little brother was stronger than her these days.

"Get off," she complained, stretching her free arm further.

Hugo laughed. "Not until I find out who he is."

Faced with her brother discovering exactly who her boyfriend was, Rose did the only thing that she could think of and threw the letter into the fireplace. As the flames engulfed it, Hugo groaned. "Not fair."

Cringing, Rose was filled with a mixture of regret and relief. She probably wouldn't get a reply from the response she'd sent to Scorpius until tomorrow, but at least her secret was intact. "Get off me, you big oaf," she said, pushing at Hugo. He stood back, though not before taking the opportunity to ruffle her hair.

"I'm gonna find out who it is," Hugo warned her.

"No, you won't." Rose would make sure of that.

Her brother grinned at her. "I bet I will."

 **IV: Studying for NEWTs**

Scorpius stared open-mouthed as the bra landed on his lap. He picked it up, the soft yellow material still warm to the touch. When Rose had teased him and told him that she could remove her bra while still wearing her top - sans magic - he hadn't really expected her to do it.

"That's  _brilliant_ ," he declared, thumb stroking over the delicate daisies embroidered in white along the bra cup.

She had a wicked smirk playing on her lips; when she leant forward to kiss him, the bed creaking a little under the shifting of her weight, he put up his hand to stop her. Her lips pressed to his palm and she frowned. This no kissing while they were studying rule was going to be the death of her, especially as they were here on his  _bed_ , ensconced within the confines of the heavy drapes.

"Not until I've finished this next chapter," Scorpius insisted, lowering his hand and shifting back against the pillows. His gaze lowered and he was horribly aware of the way her breasts looked beneath her top without her bra. She'd already finished reading. Why did she have to be so quick?  _She_   _had her bra off_. This was just teasing him.

When she rested her hand on his knee, Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her. "You said no  _kissing_ ," she protested. "And  _I've_ finished." Her fingers slid a little further up his leg. "You carry on reading," Rose added. "I'll just amuse myself." He made a disapproving noise, but picked up his book again and resumed his studying, gaze flickering across the page.

Rose's smirk didn't fade as she wriggled onto her stomach, feet kicked up so that they weren't sticking out beyond the drapes. "Don't mind me," she murmured, kissing the side of his knee, her fingers creeping up the fabric of his trousers.

"Rose," he complained. She grinned and could see the muscles in his thighs tighten a little. But he didn't stop her and she tugged on his knee to part his legs. Moving forward, she pressed a kiss further up his thigh. Her other hand skipped over the growing bulge in his trousers to unfasten them deftly. Scorpius made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

Rose fumbled with his trousers so she could get better access. His boxers were blue, the same colour as the drapes around the bed. She heard Scorpius' breath catch; he turned a page, the parchment fluttering audibly. The book came to rest atop of Rose's head.

"Have you read these footnotes?" Scorpius asked weakly, biting his lip. He really ought to say no and tell her to stop, but he couldn't. He knew what she wanted to do and, really, how was he supposed to deny  _that_? He'd insisted on spending a great deal of time practising his skills on her, too, which she hadn't complained about. Scorpius had always been something of a perfectionist.

"Incomprehensible gibberish," Rose whispered, her breath hot against the skin that she was gradually exposing. "Skip them."

"Okay," he said, sounding a little too breathless for his own liking.

Rose's fingers caught the waistband of his boxers, wriggling them down to free his erection. She let out a shaky breath, trying not to grin too much. While it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing thing she could think of, it gave her a thrill to think she had done this to him.

Scorpius swallowed. "Someone might come up here any time." His dormitory wasn't the most private place in the school.

Rose smiled against his thigh, tongue tracing along his skin and feeling him tremble. Brilliant. She swiped her tongue over the head of his erection, taking her time to tease him before she even considered taking him into her mouth.

Scorpius stared at the page he was trying to read, resting his book on top of Rose's head for fear that he might drop it. As it was, his vision swam a little and he blinked to try and focus. It didn't really work.

He could, he supposed, clonk her over the head with his book to make her stop. However, that would  _make her stop_  and that was not something he particularly wanted right now. Scorpius let his head fall back, trying to swallow a moan her lips closed around him, so hot and perfect.

Scorpius couldn't summon the presence of mind to even try reading the book now, yet his fingers still gripped at it tightly; he wanted to run his fingers through her hair.

The door to the dormitory banged open. Scorpius' whole body tensed and he dropped his book, the hardback landing on Rose's back. His hands batted helplessly at her shoulders, but Rose ignored him. If anything, her grasp on his leg grew tighter before she took more of him into her mouth.

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius bit his lip, cringing. Why did Damien have to choose  _now_ to come up here? Wasn't he supposed to be at Quidditch practice? "Yes?" he asked, trying not to let his voice quiver.

"Are you still studying?"

He looked down, which he realised belatedly was the wrong idea. The sight of Rose's head between his thighs was very nearly his undoing. "Yes." One word answers seemed like the best option.

"Are you nearly finished?"

Scorpius glared - or did his best to glare - at the top of Rose's head.  _Nearly_ , he thought weakly, sure that Rose was smirking. "Soon."  _I'm just getting to a particularly hard bit._

Damien didn't say anything for a moment. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Making throttling motions with his hands above Rose's head, Scorpius decided that he was going to kill her. When she was finished. There was no way he was going to stop her when her tongue was doing  _that_  to his cock and driving him insane with need.

"Fine," Scorpius said, fingers finally fisting into the bedcovers. "Just finding it a little hard to concentrate."

"Oh, sorry," Damien apologised. "Didn't mean to interrupt. Just wanted to tell you the lads are starting a Gobstones tournament. Do you want in?"

Scorpius screwed up his face.  _Go away, go away, go away!_  He liked his dorm mate, he really did, but he loved what Rose was doing to him more and wanted to be able to appreciate it properly. "Put a Galleon on Carmichael to win for me."

"Will do, mate. See you later."

Holding his breath until he heard the door close firmly, Scorpius let out a long, low moan. "Oh, god. Couldn't you have... couldn't you have stopped for  _one minute_?" Rose didn't stop the infuriating circling of her tongue, but Scorpius did hear a self-satisfied sort of noise from his girlfriend.

She cupped his balls with warm fingers, making him whine. He heard her chuckle softly and with a final firm stroke of her tongue he fell apart, hips bucking and knuckles turning white.

Scorpius was frowning as she slithered up the bed to lie beside him, though he was finding it hard to be angry when he still couldn't catch her breath and her body was thrumming pleasantly. "You're evil," he told.

She smiled, her hand sliding across his stomach. Leaning in, she brushed a rogue lock of hair from his temple and kissed him there. "Evil genius," she corrected, pressing herself against him.  
 **  
** **V: A close encounter in Rose's room**

Rose gave him a final push and Scorpius reluctantly rolled under the bed. Ugh. Didn't she ever clean down here? That was what house elves were for.

The edge of the covers were yanked up a couple of inches and Rose peered at him upside down, her hair trailing on the floor. "Just stay quiet," she whispered. Scorpius made an obscene gesture.

The bed made a noise as Rose disappeared from view, settling back amongst the covers. "You can come in now."

The door creaked open. "You are going to get up at some point today, aren't you?" Hermione gave her daughter a disappointed look. "Don't just stay in bed all day, will you? You have job applications to write."

"I know, Mum." The prospect of staying in bed all day, though, was very tempting, especially with Scorpius to keep her company. "I'll get them done today, I promise."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Good. Because if you don't I'll be taking Uncle George up on that offer of giving you some hours at the shop."

Pulling a face, Rose shook her head. "I don't want to work for Uncle George. The shop's so boring."

"Don't tell your uncle that. He'll set out to prove you wrong." Hermione started to close the door, but paused. "I'm just off to work now. Hugo's going out with James and Al today, so you have the house to yourself."

"Alright, Mum."

Under the bed, Scorpius grimaced. He wrinkled his nose, trying to think of anything but sneezing. He was  _so close_  to sneezing that he wanted to thump the floor in frustration. When he heard the door close, he quickly scrambled out from under the bed, scowling at Rose.

"You seriously need to clean." He blanched. "Do I have dust in my hair?"

Laughing softly, Rose shook her head. "Your hair is fine." She pulled back the edge of the covers for him. "That was close. I didn't think that she'd try and nag me  _before_  she left for work. Does your mum ever do that?"

"No." Scorpius kept his answer succinct; nagging mothers weren't the most pressing matter on hand. He pressed a kiss to her temple, gladly pulling the covers back over himself. He didn't normally leap out of bed of a morning, let alone leap out of bed and then under it.

"We have to tell people soon," he murmured. Rose sighed heavily against him. "I mean it," he added. "We can't keep going on like this."

"But as soon as I get a job, I can look into moving out. And then it'll be so much easier."

Scorpius closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the side of her face as he slid an arm around her waist. "No. We have to tell people, Rose. Wouldn't you rather tell people than risk getting found out? We keep getting so close to being caught."

Rose's brow furrowed and she tried to wriggle away from him a little. Scorpius held tight. "But everyone's going to be angry with us."

"Because our dads hate each other or because we've been seeing each other for over a year and haven't told anyone?"

She pouted. "Both."

Scorpius slid his hand up, fingers resting just below her breast. "We could do your parents first?" he suggested. "They're meant to be more accepting, aren't they? Gryffindors, I mean." Lifting his head, he gave her a winning smile. "At least I'm not a Slytherin."

"Still don't think Dad's got over the fact that  _I'm_  not a Gryffindor."

Rose sighed again and Scorpius gave her a squeeze. "Then if we can handle your parents, mine will be easy."

"You say that, but I can just picture the look your dad'll give me."

Shifting, Scorpius moved atop her, pinning her to the bed. He kissed her firmly, mostly to stop her from fretting. "Just imagine the way I look at you instead," he suggested, smirking wickedly.

"I  _do_  like the way you look at me," Rose said, a smile spreading across her face. "Like the way you touch me, too." Her own hands did a little touching, reaching around to squeeze his arse. Like her mum had just said, they had the house to themselves today. There were so many delicious possibilities that she didn't know where to start.

"Then maybe I should withdraw touching privileges." Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't." Rose tried to worm her hand between their bodies, hoping to distract him from such a silly idea. Unfortunately, with him pressed so firmly against her there was no room for her fingers to wiggle in even a little bit. "You're using sex as a weapon."

He gave a throaty chuckle and pressed a brief, chaste kiss to her forehead. "Yes," he said simply.

"You  _really_  want to meet my parents?"

"Yes. Actually, I  _really_  want to be able to take you out in public. And stop sneaking around. The stress is doing my head in. I think I'm losing my hair," he told her in all seriousness.

Rose drummed her fingers against his hip. "Afternoon tea?" It would be short and sweet, over as soon as the last cake was gone. With Dad and Hugo around, cakes never lasted long in this house.

"Dinner."

"Lunch?"

"Dinner."

"In a restaurant?" Just in case they needed the buffer of a public area.

"Here."

Rose huffed. "You're being unreasonable."

"Asking to have dinner with my girlfriend's parents is unreasonable?" Scorpius stared at her for several long moments; Rose licked her lips in anticipation. "Okay," he said quietly and rolled off her, climbing out of bed. He picked up his shirt from where it had been dropped on the floor amid Rose's seemingly endless piles of clothes.

She shivered, frowning. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Oh, don't be an arse. Come back to bed." She held the covers open for him, but he continued to get dressed. "Pillock," she grumbled under her breath.

Scorpius wheeled on her. "Don't call me a pillock. Grow up, Rose. We're not at Hogwarts any more. Hiding like this is starting to feel really pathetic." He turned away, adjusting his hair in the mirror. His gaze dropped to the floor. "Even if I meet your parents and they still hate me, it's not going to change how I feel about you."

Rose rested her head against the pillow. She had a horrible feeling that this was all going to go wrong. Worse still was the feeling that she would lose him and that, she thought, was completely unacceptable.

"Fine," she groaned. "We'll have dinner with my parents. Happy?"

His lip curled. "Ecstatic."

 **VI: After dinner with the Weasleys**

"I'm not dead."

Rose laughed and kissed him firmly. "I know. It's great, isn't it?" So far, this was going better than she had hoped. Mum was as polite as ever, while Dad was being cordial. He didn't look overly pleased - Rose didn't like the way his eyebrows drew together when he looked at Scorpius - but so far there had been no insults aimed at Scorpius or, indeed, his father. Hugo's sullen teenage silence was very much appreciated.

"Shouldn't we get back to your parents?" Not that he didn't enjoy a few moments alone with his girlfriend, but Mrs Weasley was making coffee downstairs.

"In a minute," Rose decided, kissing him again, wasting no time before unfastening his trousers.

Scorpius managed to pull his lips from hers. "Rose," he said warningly. "We shouldn't."

"But I'm so tense," she complained. "Introducing you to my parents is serious business." Her fingers curled around him and Scorpius' back stiffened. "You know how you can help me relax..." Rose gave him an exaggerated pout. "Come on. Just a quick one. It's not like I'm asking for hours of foreplay."

He snorted. "Hours of foreplay? You're usually begging before -"

Rose cut him off with a kiss. "Just take my knickers off," she told him in a low voice.

The sound that Scorpius made wasn't very manly, but damn if her tone didn't make him hard, her fingers giving him a teasing caress. "Love it when you talk like that."

Smirking, she added, "I can boss you around more, if you want."

"No time," he muttered, tugging up the skirt of her modest dress. The sooner they could finish this, the sooner they could get back downstairs and he'd stop feeling as though he was having a heart attack.

Rose shimmied her hips, helping her underwear slip down her legs until she could kick it off. "Been thinking about you all through dinner," she murmured, kissing the side of his neck as his fingers slid between her thighs. "Was only thing keeping me sane during all that boring talk about Mum's work at the Ministry."

Pressing her up against the bedroom wall, Scorpius made a noise of approval, both at the slick feel of her beneath his fingers and the thought of her imagination running wild during dinner. "Thought you looked a bit flushed," he whispered, fingers quickly seeking out her clit. She shivered against him in appreciation, back arching.

"Can't help it if you turn me on." Rose smiled slyly, hooking her leg up around his hip.

The bedroom door opened before either could register the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Have you found that book yet? I was just thinking that your mum moved a lot of your old books up to her library before you got back from -" Ron broke off mid-sentence, turning visibly pale as he took in the sight before him.

"Hi, Dad," Rose said weakly.

"Downstairs," he growled. "Now." Ron slammed the door on the way out.

Rose swore loudly, pushing Scorpius away. Grimacing, Scorpius tried to refasten his trousers. "Why is it," Rose demanded as she stormed across her room to retrieve fresh underwear from the drawer, "that the same day I introduce you to my parents is the first day that we actually get caught?"

Scorpius straightened his shirt, seeking out the mirror to check his reflection. He looked as flushed as he thought he did. "Bad luck. Inconceivable!" he spluttered.

Rose glowered at him as she pulled on clean knickers. "You keep using that word," she spat. "I don't think it means what you think it means." She gave a growl of annoyance, tugging her skirt back down and trying to pull her hair into some semblance of order.

"Calm down." Scorpius grabbed her arms, stopping her flailing hands. "Remember to breathe. It's not the end of the world."

She wrenched her arms away from him. "Not the end of the world? Not the end of the world! My  _Dad_ just caught us with your fingers up my... in my..." Rose shook her hands, unable to think of any description of what her father had seen that she suitable to say in polite conversation.

Scorpius cringed. "Fine. It's bad. But this isn't a sign of the apocalypse."

"I'm expecting a rain of toads any minute," Rose complained.

When they made their way downstairs, it seemed that Ron had wasted no time in telling his wife what he had found. To Rose's relief, her brother was nowhere in sight.

Judging by the way Ron Weasley's eyebrows seemed to draw together, his eyes narrowed, Scorpius had no doubt that Rose's father was not best pleased. He swallowed, wondering if it would be bad form to just Apparate home now. But although Mr Weasley looked like he wanted to remove his balls with a rusty spoon, Scorpius knew that he'd lose a lot more than just his manhood. He'd lose Rose.

For her part, Rose gripped his hand tightly. She was almost glad that Mum was there - Mum's glare at Dad seemed to be negating some of the intensity of Dad's glare at Scorpius.

"Ron," said Hermione, "remember to breathe. And please use your indoor voice."

Rose closed her eyes. Mum reminding Dad to keep his voice down was never a good sign.

"Rosie, sweetheart." Ron had to pause, drawing in a deep breath. "Look at me, darling."

Her breath caught. Either Mum's warning had really sunk in or Dad wasn't as heatedly angry as he looked. Rose let her grip on Scorpius' hand loosen a little. Raising her gaze to meet his, she bit her lip. "Dad?"

"Rosie," he said again. "I thought... You... How could..." Ron blustered his way through several more failed attempts at starting sentences before landing on a meek, "Couldn't you have at least locked the door?"

" _Ronald_." Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"I mean... I'm disappointed with you, Rosie."

Rose's stomach clenched. He kept calling her Rosie and it was getting a bit much. She knew that whenever he called her Rosie he was imagining her as a twelve-year-old with pigtails. Or he was trying to get her on his side. This time she suspected it was both.

"I'm sorry, Dad. It was my fault. It won't happen again."

"I thought you knew better than this. If he was pressuring you -"

"Dad!" Rose gaped. Scorpius never pressured her into doing anything. Except her parents. She knew, deep down, that it was for the best, even if it didn't feel like that right now. "He'd never pressure me.  _It was my fault_ ," she repeated.

"Please use your indoor voice," Scorpius muttered. He didn't much fancy Rose screeching beside his ear on top of everything else.

"Don't you start!" Rose covered her face with her hands for a moment. The whole world was against her, she was sure of it.

"Sorry."

Hermione clapped her hands together. "Enough of this." She conjured the tea tray with a swish of her wand, the coffee pot steaming innocently. "Rose, stop looking as though you want the ground to swallow you up. Ron, I think you're forgetting that your mother walked in on us doing much worse when we were their age."

Rose grimaced.

"As for you..." Hermione rounded on Scorpius, picking up the coffee pot. "Do you take milk or sugar?"


End file.
